Starmer plans digital ID system
London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met the architect of India’s national identification system, as he seeks to expand his plans for a digital ID.
Starmer announced in September that the new digital ID system would be introduced in 2029, and would be mandatory for people working in the UK as part of a bid to tackle illegal migration.
But during his trade mission to Mumbai, Starmer has suggested he wants to expand beyond the current plans to a voluntary national ID which could help manage public services such as benefits and bill payments.
Under the original mandatory scheme, photo IDs would be stored on smartphones in a similar way to digital bank cards and would contain information on the holder’s name, residency status, date of birth and nationality.
The plans have faced a wave of opposition since Starmer announced them, and support for digital ID has plummeted in the polls.
As he led the India trade mission, Starmer met Nandan Nilekani, a founder of the Indian technology company Infosys, to discuss India’s voluntary digital ID.
Nilekani left tech giant Infosys in 2006 to help set up Aadhaar, India’s digital identification authority.
The biometric system is the largest of its kind in the world, and covers all but a fraction of India’s population.
While it is technically a voluntary system, some have raised concerns that those without an Aadhaar number have been left locked out of access to benefits, while others have highlighted security and privacy concerns within the system.
Ahead of the meeting, Starmer told reporters he believed the Government’s work on mandatory ID was “really important” for tackling migration.
